Welcome to my genealogy blog. Genea-Musings features genealogy research tips and techniques, genealogy news items and commentary, genealogy humor, San Diego genealogy society news, family history research and some family history stories from the keyboard of Randy Seaver (of Chula Vista CA), who thinks that Genealogy Research Is really FUN!
Copyright (c) Randall J. Seaver, 2006-2015.

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Thursday, May 6, 2010

Treasure Chest Thursday - A Graduation Announcement

...It's Treasure Chest Thursday - time to look into my genealogy files for a family history jewel.

As I've noted before, my Aunt Geraldine (Seaver) Remley died back in 2007, and I asked for and received her family papers and some artifacts. Many of the papers were from Gerry's own persona life, including her high school and college diplomas, newspaper articles on important events in her life, and her professional resume.

One of the important events in Gerry's life revealed a useful family history clue. Here is a newspaper article, probably not from The Fitchburg (MA) Sentinel (I couldn't find it in the Ancestry.com collection) in May 1939 (my estimate):

The article reads:

"S.T.C. Graduate

"LEOMINSTER, May 19 -- Miss Geraldine Seaver (above), daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Frederick Seaver of 90 Main Street, who will be graduated from Lowell State Teachers College at commencement exercises in June, has accepted a position as assistant in music in the public schools of Northampton.

"Miss Seaver, who has specialized in music at the Lowell institution, will present a voice recital at the college next Wednesday, May 24, at 2 o'clock. She is soloist at First Church of Christ Scientist in Fitchburg. She was graduated from Leominster High School in 1935."

What did I learn from this? The useful facts include:

* The name of her father, and that both parents were living in 1939.

* The residence of her parents in May 1939 - 90 Main Street

* Gerry was not married in 1939.

* The name of the college she attended and graduated from.

* The location of a job after graduation.

* Her high school location and her graduation date.

Newspaper articles such as this often provide significant biographical details that cannot be found in any other resource. Since this article was, apparently, not from The Fitchburg Sentinel or The Lowell Sun (both of which are indexed on Ancestry.com for this time period, I should try to determine the source of this article that was clipped and put in Aunt Gerry's family papers. My first guess is that there was a Leominster MA newspaper that published it. Or perhaps it is a Northampton newspaper that published it.

Another lesson learned here is that not every newspaper, and not every issue of a newspaper, is microfilmed, digitized and indexed. At least, not yet!

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About Me

I am a native San Diegan, a graduate of San Diego State University, a retired aerospace engineer, a genealogist and a family guy.
My wife (Angel Linda) and I have two lovely daughters, and four darling grandchildren. We love to visit them and have them visit us.
Angel Linda and I love to travel to visit friends and relatives, to sightsee, to cruise or to do genealogy. Our travels have taken us all over the USA, to England, Down Under and Scandinavia.
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Contact me via email at randy.seaver@gmail.com